


It's a Long Way Forward, so Trust in Me

by LesboDyke



Series: Halal Pea and Mash Cookies [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Baking, Domesticity, F/F, Fluff, Teeth Rotting Sweetness, bonding activities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-24 02:53:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16631495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LesboDyke/pseuds/LesboDyke
Summary: The Doctor chew her nails while anxious or thinking. Yaz hates it and comes up with a solution. Also the Doctor bakes cookies.





	It's a Long Way Forward, so Trust in Me

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey! This ship has consumed me!
> 
> Every fic in this series will have it's Title taken from one of the Songs in my [Thasmin Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/willmadhatter/playlist/48JPoDWHF6GhNbvaiKghQY?si=JkmYnVeEQeyqdDtAio0YsQ)
> 
> Also, if y'all wanna come bother me about this series, or ask the characters questions, or request to see certain things, feel free to pop over here to [The Halal Pea and Mash Cookies Blog!](https://halalpeaandmashcookies.tumblr.com/) (I'll post this link in the end notes too, just in case!)
> 
> With that said, enjoy the fic!

The Doctor didn’t mean to snoop. Really, she didn’t. But Yaz had been moving more and more of her belongings into the Doctors bedroom, and some of them had caught her eye. Especially the various bottles that Yaz had left out atop the chest of drawers. Mostly, the Doctor’s furniture was purely ornamental. Not so much the chest of drawers though. It had thirteen drawers, one drawer for every previous life, and all the clothes she'd worn at those times. She’d sometimes look through them, try them on and marvel how much she’d changed. Never in front of anyone else, of course. But sometimes alone, it was nice to remember.

Yaz had covered the top of the chest of drawers with bottles and trays, and they’d caught the Doctors attention. She could hear Yaz nearby. She was talking to Ryan, but the Doctor knew that she'd been heading to put her pyjamas on. How did she know this? The fluffy and well worn penguin pyjama holder had vanished from their bed. That was one of the first things that Yaz had ended up leaving in the Doctors room. Not that the Doctor would ever admit to it, but the times where she'd left her humans on earth for a while, to allow them time to live their lives, she'd tucked the penguin inside of her shirt and talked to it, as if it was Yaz herself. It even helped, somewhat.

The Doctor lifted one of the bottles, finally recognising it properly. It was nail varnish. A gentle pink colour that the Doctor had seen chipping off Yaz's nails a few weeks ago.

“Why are you smiling at one of my bottles of polish?” Yaz's voice made the Doctor jump and she fumbled for a moment, almost dropping the bottle before setting it down.

“Nothing!” The Doctor said cheerily, finally turning to grin at Yaz. Yaz didn't look like she believed her, but let it slide for the moment. She'd long since learned that sometimes it was better not to continue the question the Doctor. She still wasn't entirely over the brain melting sleep inducing aliens that apparently the Doctor had been thinking about while kissing Yaz's temple. “What did Ryan want? I got rid of the bunk beds, didn't I?”

“Bunk…?” Yaz shook her head. Another question for another time. “No, no. Apparently Graham managed to find a kitchen for midnight snacks, but won't tell Ryan where it is. He wanted to know if I'd found a kitchen.”

“I have a kitchen?” The Doctors brow furrowed as she slid in between the sheets of her bed. “I still haven't found it, I thought the TARDIS deleted it. I'll have to ask Graham to show me.”

“I'm still amazed by… All this.” Yaz waved her hand around the room and at the Doctor, having folded her clothes onto the chair before moving towards the bed herself. “I’m still half convinced I’m gonna wake up in the loony bin or somethin’.” She admitted, settling down on one side, facing the Doctor. After the Doctor clicked her fingers, turning off their lights, she leaned over in the gloom and lightly pinched Yaz’s side.  
“Ow! What was that for?” Yaz complained, reaching over to return the motion. The Doctor winced and hissed air in through her teeth, shuffling away slightly.

“You’re not asleep. I was just proving that.” Yaz could hear the pout in the Doctors voice, even if she couldn’t see it properly. It was a lot more adorable when Yaz couldn’t see it or be manipulated by it. And then came the noise that went right through Yaz’s system, made her feel like someone was scratching down her spinal cord. The Doctor was chewing on her nails.

“Stop that!” Yaz scolded, reaching out and managing to snag the Doctors hand. She held it to her chest, thumb smoothing over the back. “The noise goes through me, I’ve told you a thousand times.”

“Sorry.” The Doctor sighed, shuffling closer and tucking herself under Yaz’s chin comfortably. Yaz released her hand, kissing the Doctor’s head and closing her eyes. An idea was forming already, to solve a problem and make the Doctor happy.

\---

“Ooh cookies!” Ryan didn’t bother to ask, lifting one of the treats off of the plate in the console room.

“I made them myself.” The Doctor said, pride filling her voice as she continued to fiddle with the TARDIS’ controls. She’d promised them somewhere beautiful, and was trying to pick a place that was safe enough that she could allow Graham and Ryan to wander and take Yaz on a proper date for the first time in a while.

“Oh god, what did you put in these?” Ryan was scowling, wiping at his tongue with his finger.

“Eggs, Flour, Butter, Potatoes, Peas, Gravy Granules, normal cookie stuff.” The Doctor shrugged, finally deciding on a destination and setting the course in carefully, hoping that the TARDIS actually listened to her this time. She wanted a chance to make Yaz smile.

“Only some of that is cookie stuff, Doc!” Graham protested, not even bothering to try one. “In fact, half of that sounds like what you’d make a roast dinner with!”

“Huh. I just put in stuff that I like to eat. I think they’re nice.” The Doctor snagged one off the plate, holding it between her teeth as she moved over to another set of controls. “You really don’t like them?”

“Fuuu-” Ryan glanced over at Graham, pulling a face before continuing “-uudge no. They’re horrible, Doctor. Have you never made cookies before?”

“I think so?” The Doctor shrugged, having already polished off the cookie she’d grabbed. “Either way, I think they’re great.”

“What are we talking about?” Yaz seemed to pop up from nowhere. She’d been exploring the TARDIS and found herself beneath the control room. She had to admit, in a secret part of her brain, that she’d never been more disappointed that the Doctor wore pants. But still, she’d climbed herself up catch the tail end of the conversation.

“Cookies.” Ryan said, pulling a face. “The Doctor made some disgusting cookies.”

“Can I eat them?” Yaz asked, glancing to the Doctor. It took the Doctor a moment to realise it was a twofold question, and she quickly thought back to her ingredients, before nodding with a grin.

“Yeah, all safe.”

“Debatable.” Graham muttered, as Yaz moved to grab a cookie from the plate. She could tell from looking that they didn’t actually contain things that you’d expect to find in a cookie. But she could feel the Doctors eyes on her, and again heard the noise that made her shudder.

“Nails.” Yaz muttered, flinching a little. The Doctor was quick to drop her hand, shooting Yaz an apologetic smile. With that dealt with, Yaz turned her attention to the cookie again. Sending up a quiet prayer, Yaz bit into the cookie. It was… unique. And honestly, she did agree with Ryan, they were more than a little gross. But still, Yaz smiled a little. “Not my thing.” She admitted, handing the rest of the cookie to the Doctor, able to tell she was the only one who’d eat it.

“I’ll make more later.” The Doctor grinned. “Try some different flavours. I’m sure I’ll find something you’ll like!”

“Why do I doubt that?” Ryan whispered to Yaz as he passed her. Yaz shrugged, chuckling slightly. Sometimes, it was all too easy to remember that the Doctor was an Alien.

\---

The Date that the Doctor had planned hadn’t quite gone to plan. Of course, they never did, but she was more than a little disappointed. She’d let Yaz shower first, and was now heading to their bedroom, still towelling at her hair with one hand. The other hand was in her mouth, teeth scraping against nails unhappily. She knew Yaz hated the habit, but it was still her go to when she got stressed out by pretty much anything. Or too deep in thought. Or both. Normally both.

“You’re thinking too hard.” Yaz pointed out, the second the Doctor entered her bedroom. The Doctor shrugged, dropping her towel around her shoulders.

“Did you get all of the goo out of your hair?” The Doctor asked, smiling apologetically around her hand.

“Yeah, I think so. I used, like, an entire bottle of shampoo.” Yaz admitted, standing from the bed and reaching up to take the Doctors hand, pulling it away from her mouth. “I had an idea. Something we could do together, since I know you told us to split up and explore for a reason today.” Yaz raised a knowing eyebrow, and the Doctor shrugged again, her cheeks tingeing just slightly. Perhaps she hadn’t been as subtle as she’d wanted to be.

“What’s the idea?” The Doctor asked, perking herself back up and grinning, shifting her hand in Yaz’s grip to tangle their fingers together.

“It’s a little selfish of me,” Yaz admitted, tugging the Doctor towards her chest of drawers and lifting the tray with the nail care items. “Because it will also, hopefully, stop you from chewing on your nails all the time.”

“You want… to paint my nails?” Now it was Yaz that was blushing, refusing to look at the Doctor as she moved back towards the bed with the small tray. “Yaz!” Yaz stumbled, and nearly fell, as the Doctor practically slammed into her from behind in a hug. “That’s a great idea! I’ve never painted my nails before, not that I can remember anyway! This is going to be amazing!” Yaz laughed, managing to set the tray down before turning into the hug.

“Glad you like the idea.” Yaz squeezed the Doctor in return, burying her face in her neck and feeling the brush of still damp hair against her head. Once upon a time, Yaz was certain, she’d have recoiled from the feeling. Of course, once upon a time, she’d have been very uncomfortable with the hug in general. A lot of things had changed for her. “I can’t paint your nails like this.” Yaz finally admitted, causing the Doctor to basically jump backwards, still grinning.

“Right, yeah, of course!” The Doctor wiggled her fingers. “What colour? Ooh, do you have blue?”

“You’re the one that was rifling through them the other day, why don’t you tell me?”

“I wasn’t Rifling!” The Doctor defended instantly. “You just… left shiny bottles in my room, I was curious.”

“Ryan was right, you are like a kitten.” Yaz shook her head, sitting on the bed and patting the spot in front of her, that was instantly filled with the Doctor. “I think I have…” Yaz quickly moved through the bottles on her tray. “Ah ha! Yes, a blue! Do you like this one?” Yaz offered it out, and the Doctor took the bottle, turning it over and watching the colour move.

“It’s perfect!” The Doctor handed the bottle back, shifting to sit comfortably. “Can I do yours, afterwards? We could match!”

“Sure.” Yaz chuckled, unscrewing the bottle and setting it back on the tray. She took the Doctors hand, her thumb smoothing over the back of it for a moment. The Doctor remained silent, despite being impatient about having her nails painted. Regardless of how she presented often, the Doctor did understand peoples inner worlds, and knew that Yaz sometimes needed to just slow down. She’d give her that. Honestly, the Doctor would give Yaz pretty much anything she wanted or needed.

With her moment over, Yaz turned the Doctors hand over and into the right position, before lifting the brush.

“Who taught you to paint your nails?” The Doctor asked, once she was sure Yaz was in a rhythm with the painting.

“My sister.” Yaz admitted. “Sonya was always more of a girly girl than me. And then I broke my arm when I was ten. She was eight.” Yaz chuckled, moving over to the Doctors middle finger. “Sonya painted my cast first. And then, after I’d been in the cast two weeks, I started getting a little depressed.” Yaz’s focus was entirely down on her job, and the Doctor had to fight not to fidget and shift. “So Sonya snuck into my room after bedtime with all of these bottles of nail varnish. Apparently she’d asked friends at school for their favourite colours too. Every finger was a different colour, there was no matching theme at all. But it helped. And then when they started chipping, she taught me how to take it off and put it back on again.”

“She sounds like a good sister.” The Doctor said with a smile, as Yaz released her hand, motioning for her other one. The Doctor leant over carefully, making sure not to smudge Yaz’s hard work, to kiss her softly. “Thank you for sharing with me.” She whispered against Yaz’s lips.

“It’s no big.” Yaz hummed, grinning as the Doctor pulled back. She motioned for the Doctors hand again, squeezing it as the Doctor offered it out. “So you’ve really never painted your nails before?”

“Never been a girl before.” The Doctor shrugged. “And the last time someone offered to paint mine, it was an attempt to get out of trouble, so I refused.” She chuckled, winking at Yaz playfully.

“So you’re saying I can’t use this bonding time to get me out of trouble? Damn, and here I thought I was golden!” Yaz was grinning, and the Doctor felt her hearts flutter, just a little, in her chest.

“You could always try, next time you get in trouble.” The Doctor teased. “I’m just not promising it’s going to work.”

“I already know how to get out of trouble with you.” Yaz pointed out, knowing that she’d never actually _been_ in trouble with the Doctor. And she had plans of keeping it that way. They’d had a few disagreements, naturally. What couple doesn’t? But they’d been handled with discussion. In fact, Yaz didn’t think she’d ever heard the Doctor raise her voice. To anyone.

“Is that so?” Yaz nodded, still grinning a little.

“It is.” Yaz moved the Doctors half painted hand aside, leaning over until their lips were almost touching. “I know I can distract you and get away with anything, if I try hard enough.”

“You don’t play fair.” The Doctor pointed out, chuckling slightly as Yaz kissed her. “Luckily for you, you’re cute enough to get away with it.”

“It’s my secret power.” Yaz pointed out, pecking the Doctor’s lips again before sitting back and resuming her painting. The Doctor hummed in agreement, now examining her already painted nails. It was a nice blue. The Doctor made a note that she’d have to look at the bottle later, and stock up on it. If she was doing to paint her nails, she wanted them to be this blue all the time.

“All done!” Yaz announced, for once shocking the Doctor out of her thoughts.

“Can I do yours now?” The Doctor asked, beaming and already reaching for the bottle. Yaz was quick to hold it out of her reach.

“Let yours dry. If you smudge my hard work, I’ll make you sleep in the console room!” There was the Doctors pout again. It wasn’t fair how easily she could pull that face and make Yaz want to instantly cave. But still, she held firm, holding the bottle out of the Doctors reach.

“How long will that take?” The Doctor asked, now blowing on her own nails.

“A few minutes.” Yaz admitted, closing the bottle and setting it down now that she was certain the Doctor wasn’t going to lunge for it. The Doctor huffed, blowing harder on her nails to try and dry them quicker.

“Do you think this will really stop me chewing my nails?” The Doctor asked, having switched to rapidly wafting her hands about to try and dry them quicker. Yaz shrugged, watching with an amused fondness.

“Probably. Nail Varnish tastes horrible. One of the girls at Mosque, her Mum used to coat her nails in clear polish so that she wouldn’t chew them. Seemed to work for her.” There was a pause, before Yaz shrugged. “Although she switched to gum, which didn’t go down too well with her folks.”

“Never liked gum.” The Doctor admitted. “Much prefer biscuits.”

“If you ate biscuits every time you wanted to chew your nails, you’d fill the TARDIS! And our bed would be full of crumbs.” The Doctor beamed at the word ‘our’, but said nothing further on it, not wanting to push Yaz.

“Yeah good point. Might give gum another go then. Think it’d undermine my authority with people?”

“Doctor…” Yaz shook her head, chuckling slightly. “You wear suspenders and regularly pull snacks from a bum bag during important conversations. I think chewing gum is one of the more normal things you could do.”

“I’m offended!” A pause, before the Doctor added on, “I think…” Yaz snorted, leaning over to kiss the Doctors cheek.

“I think it’s charming. Not sure about everyone else though.”

“I don’t care what everyone else thinks.” The Doctor pointed out, turning her head to peck Yaz’s lips. “Well, I mean, except for Ryan and Graham. And your Mum and Nani. And Grace, I cared what she thought of me, and-”

“Rambling.” Yaz pointed out, causing the Doctor to stop short.

“Right. Summary, I care about what some people think of me, but mostly you.”

“Smooth talker.” Yaz teased, reaching for one of the Doctors hands and lightly brushing her finger over her thumb nail, grinning. “There, all dry. You can do mine now.”

\---

“Yaz?” They’d stopped to catch their breath, having split up to try and run from the distinctly angry sheep like aliens that they’d somehow insulted.

“Yeah?” Yaz glanced at Graham, doubled over as she fought to fill her lungs enough that they could keep running.

“I know this isn’t the right time, running for our lives an’ all, but I gotta say… don’t let the Doc do your nails again.” Yaz’s eyes were drawn down to her hands, chest still heaving. The Nail Polish was a good way up her fingers, but the Doctor had seemed so sad when Yaz had mentioned washing it off that she’d left it.

“Yeah, I think I’m with you on that.” Yaz managed a breathless laugh, before straightening up. “C’mon, I don’t want her to have to save us again, we’d better keep moving.” Graham let out a pained groan but nodded and the two of them began to jog again, hopefully in the direction of the TARDIS.

**Author's Note:**

> If y'all wanna come bother me about this series, or ask the characters questions, or request to see certain things, feel free to pop over here to [The Halal Pea and Mash Cookies Blog!](https://halalpeaandmashcookies.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Also, totally not obligatory at all, but if you enjoyed this fic and wanna support me, I have a [Ko-Fi](https://ko-fi.com/lesbodyke) & anything would be both very well received and greatly appreciated! (Although again, not obligatory, not even if you request stuff on the blog!)


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